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Adventure | Page 157 | LitPick Book Reviews
Adventure
Blood Spirits (Dobrenica)
Blood Spirits
Sherwood Smith
Before last summer, I was just a normal grad student from California, but then I went to Europe to track down my grandmother's family and my life changed forever.Mistaken for Ruli, a runaway princess who, it turned out, was actually my cousin, I was drugged, abducted, and taken to Dobrenica, a tiny and very unusual little kingdom in Eastern Europe.The handsome man who kidnapped me was Alec, Ruli's fiance, the man who was slated to rule Dobrenica. Like so many things in this odd little kingdom, their marriage would have a magical component―for when certain members of two royal lines married at a particular point in time, Dobrenica...vanished.The solution should have been simple, right? Find Ruli and bring her home. Except Ruli didn't want to come home. Alec and Ruli disliked each other, and to complicate matters further, Alec and I...well, I've always been a romantic at heart.In the end we all did the "right thing." Brokenhearted yet resolute, I returned to America, but I just couldn't seem to forget Alec or Dobrenica.But then I learned that though Ruli and Alec had married, Dobrenica was still in our world. Still in my world. The magic had failed, and no one knew why.So back I went, but my trip became even more dangerous than it was the first time. I expected personal conflict and politics, even sword fighting. I was also prepared for Dobrenica's ever-present specters. But I was not prepared for murder, mystery, or the chillingly real presence of the undead.

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Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans
Antiquitas Lost
Geof Isherwood, Robert Louis Smith
Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans is the award-winning debut novel of American cardiologist, Robert Louis Smith. It is an illustrated fantasy novel that chronicles the adventures of an American teenage boy after he stumbles through a magical doorway in his grandfather's basement, and into a war-torn fantasy world called Pangrelor. The main story arc involves the protagonist's gradual discovery of his unknown relation to Pangrelor, and his unlikely quest to help save its greatest civilization, which is centered around the mountaintop city of Harwelden. Several times during the story, the protagonist is told that success in saving this fabled city of Harwelden may help to save his own dying mother, who remains isolated from him and terminally ill back in New Orleans.Antiquitas Lost is noteworthy for its many high quality illustrations, making it somewhat unique to its genre. It was awarded "Most Promising New Novel" at the 2011 New York City Comic Convention, selected as a Kirkus 2011 Critics' Pick, and awarded a medal for "Best Juvenile Fiction" at the 2012 Independent Publishers Book Awards.

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The Diviner
The Diviner
Melanie Rawn
Bestselling author Melanie Rawn's triumphant return to high fantasy.The only survivor of royal treachery that eliminates his entire family, Azzad al-Ma'aliq flees to the desert and dedicates himself to vengeance. With the help of the Shagara, a nomadic tribe of powerful magicians, he will finally be able to take his revenge - but at what cost?

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Disappearing Nightly (Esther Diamond Novel)
Disappearing Nightly
Laura Resnick
Esther Diamond, a struggling actress in New York, seems destined to attract supernatural mayhem.When bizarre magical disappearances disrupt shows around the city, Esther receives a mysterious warning not to go on with her off-Broadway show. Desperate to stay on stage rather than resort to waiting tables, Esther turns to her new BFF, Dr. Maximillian Zadok, a 350-year-old mage whose day job is protecting New York from Evil. Determined to get to the bottom of this mystery without losing her job, Esther and Max team up with a conjuring cowboy, a banker with stage aspirations, and a flock of fearless drag queens. Also on the case is Detective Connor Lopez, a sexy cop who has a thing for Esther, but who fears that she and Max may be a bigger problem than the vanishing performers.Since the show must go on—and the astronomical rent must be paid—Esther, Max, and their friends pursue Evil to its lair in their fearless determination to find the missing performers and restore harmony to the city that never sleeps. Disappearing Nightly is the thrilling first novel of the Esther Diamond series.

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The Shining City (The Warriors of Estavia)
The Warriors of Estavia: Book 3 The Shining City
Fiona Patton
"Expert world builder"* Fiona Patton concludes The Warriors of Estavia saga. *Midwest Book Review With the three children of prophecy-the seers Spar and Graize, and the warrior Brax-now grown, and the young God Hisar ready to stake his claim to a place in the pantheon of Anavatan, a time of chaos and change is fast approaching. For only if sworn enemies Spar and Graize can come together as Hisar's priests will the God stand any chance of surviving the coming battles with both the hungry spirits seeking to devour him, and the war with the mortal invasion fleet, which is even now sailing for Anavatan.

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The Ghost Roads (Ring of Five)
The Ring of Five: The Ghost Roads
Eoin McNamee
The nefarious leader of the Ring of Five, Ambrose Longford, is still determined to control both the Upper World and Lower World. But Danny and his friends at Wilson's school for spies stand in his way. As Danny struggles with his role in the spy world, Longford is attempting to bring down the other members of the Ring, to usurp all of its power. Or is he? In this exhilarating conclusion to the Ring of Five trilogy, Eoin McNamee's twists and turns will leave readers wondering who they can believe when dealing with a world of spies.

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Jump into the Sky
Jump Into the Sky
Shelley Pearsall
Levi Battle's been left behind all his life. His mother could sing like a bird and she flew away like one, too. His father left him with his grandmother so he could work as a traveling salesman—until Levi's grandmother left this world entirely. Now Levi's staying with his Aunt Odella while his father is serving in the U.S. Army. But it's 1945, and the war is nearly over, and Aunt Odella decides it's time for Levi to do some leaving of his own. Before he can blink, Levi finds himself on a train from Chicago to Fayettville, North Carolina, where his father is currently stationed—last they knew.So begins an eye-opening, life-changing journey for Levi. First lesson: there are different rules for African Americans in the South than there are in Chicago. And breaking them can have serious consequences. But with the help of some kind strangers, and despite the hindrances of some unkind ones, Levi makes his way across the United States—searching for his father and finding out about himself, his country, and what it truly means to belong.Shelley Pearsall has created an unforgettable character in Levi and gives readers a remarkable tour of 1945 America through his eyes. Jump into the Sky is a tour de force of historical fiction from a writer at the very top of her game.

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The Master of Misrule
The Master of Misrule
Laura Powell
"Thriller, magic, mystery, love and betrayal: in the cards and in these pages." —KirkusWhen Cat and her friends put an end to the sinister Game of Triumphs, they thought they could simply collect their prizes and walk away. But they unwittingly created a monster. Before the dust has settled, the self-proclaimed Master of Misrule is engineering a sadistic lottery that will unleash the power of the Game onto an unsuspecting London. Misrule's agenda of chaos threatens life as they know it, gambling away free will for fickle fortune. And his power has quickly grown to proportions they never could have imagined. It all comes down to one final play. Cat, Flora, Blaine, and Toby must go back into the Arcanum and take fate into their own hands. This time they have everything to lose.This spine-tingling follow-up to Powell's The Game of Triumphs is everything you could hope for in a sequel and more! It's every bit as thrilling and complex as the first book, with higher stakes and even a hint of romance added to the mix.

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A Voice for Kanzas
A Voice for Kanzas
Debra McArthur
Book by McArthur, Debra

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Emily and Jackson Hiding Out
Emily and Jackson: Hiding Out
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Due to demand for a companion story to the popular Emily's Fortune, Newbery Award winner Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has written another rootin' tootin' Wild West escapade that once again includes plucky orphans Emily and Jackson, dastardly villains, and comical cliffhangers.Emily Wiggins is thrilled that she and her orphan friend Jackson have escaped the clutches of the Child-Catching Services and Emily's villainous uncle Victor. Emily and Jackson are now living happily with her loving aunt Hilda. But just a mighty mouth minute! Someone's snooping around for an orphan child on the run! He knows Jackson is hiding nearby and aims to get a reward for snatching him and sending him to work at a mill. What in leapin' livers should Jackson do? And Emily can't rest easy either, since some sort of creature is coming to their gate when Jackson and Emily are home alone. What in simmering succotash is that moving pile of dirt? Is it a heap of black rags, is it a dusty tumbleweed, no it's . . . Now what in shaking shivers will happen next?

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